Hello from Krakow, Poland

[fountain pain]

Hello!

I think I should let you know who I am, and since I don't know that myself yet, how about saying what I do, or try to do. I have received a completely off-topic degree in literature not long ago and am now trying to dig up all the talents and interests I'd had to sacrifice, bury and forget for the sake of my thesis. These include drawing, photography, fashion illustration and calligraphy, and none of them superior, unfortunately. I spent all my time at schools writing with different fountain pens, filled daily journals with juvenile depression in black ink, cleaned for hours some old pens the names of which I couldn't recognize, then went on a pilgrimage to London to get a decent Parker Vector with a set of nice broad nibs to practise Gothic, and finally, ended up hunting the oldschool Gillott nibs in Paris. And I'm still on the prowl.

Since I freed myself from university, I'm trying to improve all my skills, which at the moment means self-teaching: drawing, Copperplate, watercolor painting, and Italian (the language, I mean) at the same time. Hopefully I can combine my interests some day to create something fresh and interesting, but there is much work to do and it's hard to focus on many things at the same time, so I've decided to join your community to have a safe harbor where there's always someone experienced at least in decent writing . Right now, I'm waiting for the news about new nibs, in the meantime trying to practise the basic Copperplate strokes with what I have, and gnashing my teeth over the wrong paper (apparently not smooth enough for the pointed nibs), wondering how many more things there are for me to learn the hard way.

I've been using a flashy Waterman Audace for handwriting for two years now, but its intolerance for brown ink is quite annoying (I can't even imagine how this is possible). For some unknown reason, the pen works best with blue, and only blue.

Guess I've used up the word limit for "a brief bio" a couple times by now, so once again Hi, and I hope there is some tiny bit I can add to the big thing you have here.

[bardharlock]

 

I hope you enjoy your stay and please do not worry about your introduction being too long. It wasn't.

[fountain pain]

Thanks bardharlock

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

Welcome to the FPN from Canada.

 

Peter

[The Canterville Ghost]

Welcome to FPN.

 

I didn't find your inroduction too long, in fact it gave me the push I needed to introduce myself.

 

Best of luck improving your skills.

[ColinS]

Hello Fountain Pain. I visited Krakow a few years ago on business (medical technology). Strongly impressed by the city and history.

[ArchiMark]

Welcome and greetings from Silicon Valley....

 

Think you will enjoy this group, people have been very friendly and helpful to me the past 2 weeks or so since I signed up....

 

Enjoy!

 

[koa]

Welcome!

 

Interesting interests. But, you know, you are never really freed of a university!

[RayMan]

Welcome.

[PAKMAN]

Hello and welcome to FPN!!

 

 

[Yuki Onitsura]

Greetings and a jolly welcome from Sydney ^^. Don't worry about your introduction being too long. It just saves us from having to ask as many questions about you =)

 

Yuki

[playpen]

Welcome to FPN! Great introduction!

[diplomat]

Welcome to FPN, great nickname

 

p.s. Krakow is magic!

[fountain pain]

Thanks to all of you for such a warm welcome, it's very encouraging!

 

@ The Canterville Ghost:

Thank you, I'm going to need much luck with visibly improving at least half of them!

 

@ ColinS:

Nice to hear that. The place has gone through much, just as the whole country, and the fact still has a considerable impact on the people's mentality even after twenty years since the fall of Communism. Which is one of the reasons why I'm going to move out of here as soon as I can.

 

@ ArchiMark:

I already enjoy the place, thanks!

Do you have anything in common with creating machines, or am I just falling into one of those silly stereotypes?

 

@ Koa:

I know, I know, but I prefer to teach myself so that at least I can choose what to learn! I'm just tired of being a student, so student's book thrown to the floor shall be lifted nevermore! (Yeah, that was cheesy. But I love Poe.) No more supervised study!

By the way, I'm a teacher by profession (never going to teach at school though), so there is a grain of truth in what you're saying about never being free from this institution

 

@ Yuki Onitsura:

Thanks for the kind words! By the way, I love the ultimatum in your avatar Have you taken part in the writing marathon? I'm more into short stories, but love all such ideas! (Another is "write a complete story in one text message" but unfortunately, it's only for the British mobile numbers.)

 

@ Playpen:

Thank you, although I have no idea what's so great about it - to me, it sounded like "I can't to anything well, cannot even concentrate on one thing" told in a dozen different ways!

 

@ Diplomat:

Thanks for appreciating my creativity here As for Krakow, you are right about its magic (I mean the atmosphere of the Old Town, the churches, the pubs in the Main Square, and the good vibes of the chakra under the Castle, if someone believes in those things) but I'm definitely moving out of here as soon as possible. That's why I'm learning another language now

 

I hope I haven't broken any rule of the forum by replying to you all in one post - I wanted to avoid splashing ten short messages in a row

I forgot to say my favorite pen has for years now been Rainbow 201 and I don't have even the faintest idea what it is exactly, but works great for journaling the daily grind. And my dream is a flex that I could use for Copperplate, but those pens are of course nowhere to be found in my neighborhood (or I suck at finding things).

 

Have a great day, or night, depending on your location

[Michael W]

[PatientType]

I hope I haven't broken any rule of the forum by replying to you all in one post - I wanted to avoid splashing ten short messages in a row

 

Hi and welcome ...

 

I thought that taking the care to thank each member that greeted you was great! A very thoughtful thing to do. I've never been to Poland but perhaps someday...

I've enjoyed this forum for similar reasons to those you gave for joining. There is a great deal of expertise here on fountain pens. And, the people I've found here are remarkably generous with their time, information, and good will.

 

I'll look forward to seeing you around and about.

[fountain pain]

@ Michael W: Hello and thank you

 

@ PatientType:

Hi and thanks for the words of praise, however exaggerated -- I'm just too talkative to keep my keyboard shut when someone draws my attention, even if only with something not-that-important.

 

Come to Poland when you have a chance -- there is still much beauty to this country, and many myths about it among foreigners to disprove -- certainly it's not only the homeland of John Paul II, Lech Walesa and the rude uneducated masses freely flowing into the UK to make some money and a lot more mess. (Why nobody ever speaks about Poland experiencing a real brain drain with all the educated emigrants, I wonder.)

 

As for the people of FPN, I have already learned a lot about pens from the tons of information posted here and I'm sure I will receive help when I need it -- which is quite soon as I can't get any good nibs in the great royal city of Krakow

 

By the way, my avatar pic is a photo of one of my first attempts at illuminating initials, but the watercolors should be intertwined with gold leaf, and since I still don't have an agate burnisher, the gold is just a couple thick layers of Pilot permanent ink -- not a very professional attitude but, as I've said before, I just do what I can with whatever I can find. It's quite a relief that at least my drawing skills don't need a hell of an art shop to improve

 

The fact that none of you know me and still, all of you are so nice to me, well, it only strengthens my impression that all pen lovers are good people

[sansenri]

benvenuto!

 

your type of pain is Gothic I'm sure, the kind of pain that inspires the artist

"struggimento" we call it in italian (which I think translates to yearning in English)

 

I visited Krakow just a few weeks before Christmas two years ago, when it had just snowed, and the atmosphere was magic, as was my ride with my wife on the white horse carriage (turist attraction I know, but then it would be like going to Venice with your wife and not taking her on a Gondola... )

 

Since you are from Poland and just joined FPN, in case you are not yet aware, you have a talented young chemist named Konrad producing fountain pen inks in Warsaw, check him out if you don't know him yet (google KWZ inks).

 

Buona scrittura

[Chrissy]

This thread is from 2009 and is not from a new member.

[mitto]

Greetings and welcome to FPN.